Bikepacking Bikes

Inspiration

What is Bikepacking?

Simply put, bikepacking is the synthesis of mountain biking and minimalist camping; it evokes the freedom of multi-day backcountry hiking, with the range and thrill of riding a mountain bike. Click the link below to find out how to start. Start Here

How to Bikepack.

Broadly speaking, there are three bikepacking genres to choose from – Multi-day Mountain Biking, Ultralight Race & Gravel, and Expedition & Dirt Touring. Click the link below to learn about each.
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Where to go.

As important as it is to have a reliable bike and pack as light as you can, choosing the right route is perhaps the key to your enjoyment. Visit this section to learn how to choose a route, and some insight into navigation.
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When & How Long?

The average bikepacking trip should be based around riding between 25-75 miles (40-120 km) per day, depending on the weight of your load, the difficulty of the terrain ...
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The Routes Map

We have ~100 routes on our worldwide bikepacking routes map. Cick the link to see them plotted or select from the links to the right to filter. View The Map

Classic Routes

There are some routes that are made classic by their sheer perfection, and others by races. View The Classics

By Length (days)

By Location

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Contribute

We'd love to share your bikepacking stories and photography with the rest of the community. We welcome high quality contributions, including trip reports, videos, gear reviews, gear lists, recipes and of course, bikepacking routes from around the world.
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Mike In Europe: Not Bike Touring Around Italy – a Mid Tour Break

Leaving the bike behind and hopping on the train for a non pedal powered trip to see family and a few favorite Italian places.

Having slogged up and down the Swiss Alps I figured it was a good time to take a mid tour break. Arriving at Lago Maggiore and experiencing the heat of Mediterranean Europe in late July Italy seemed the perfect place to get off the bike and do some not bike touring around Italy.

While stunningly beautiful, the ridiculous prices in Switzerland had left me with the sudden urge to evacuate early and a few extra days to kill. Looking for a way to spend several days I pulled out the map and estimated it would take me three easy days to get to Parma. I picked Parma simply based on the fact it is the home of Parma ham and Parmigiana cheese, good enough reasons for me. In the end these were three of the hardest days, if only mentally, of my tour so far. The heat and humidity coupled with the fact nothing is open on Sunday in rural Italy made for an unexpected challenge to get through the Po River valley. The abundance of cheese more than made up for it in the end.

After two nights in Parma my riding in Italy was basically done for two week. I hopped on the train with my bike to Torino and my first experience Warmshoers.org. I was extremely lucky to be hosted by a really great guy who along with several other were just about to leave for their own tour of Indonesia. I was treated to great food and wine and even better conversations about our past, present, and future bike travel. I was also lucky enough to get to have lunch with my cousin Matteo before he left for vacation as well. After several days in Torino I was off to visit my grandfather’s side of the family in Bagnolo, Piemonte and surrounding areas. It was great to see the house and village where my grandfather was born and meet more family. Thanks to Patrizia Rolando and her family for showing me around and feeding me such wonderful food.

Leaving my bike behind I traveled by train to Rome for a few nights. Rome is great, so much to see, but my true goal was Naples. One of, if not my very favorite cities I’ve visited. I was there three years ago and always told myself I’d be back. There is nothing like it in the world in my opinion. Not only is the city one of the most alive place you can find but the hostel, Giovanni’s Home, is also my favorite and most memorable. If you are to go to only one city in Italy I would suggest Naples. With apologies any family or friends from other parts of Italy I just don’t believe you have really been to Italy unless you have been to Naples. I had originally only planned for two nights here but ended up spending four and still not even denting the things I wanted to see. You could easily spend weeks in Naples. I could go on for longer than anyone would like about the interesting historical and current aspects of the city.

I have to leave tomorrow and will be on the train all day to get back to Pinerolo and my family in Campiglione-Fenile. I’m not excited to leave Naples, but after two weeks I am really ready to get back on my bike and start riding again. My general plan is to get to the Mediterranean Coast of Italy and cycle through Southern France and then up the West Coast before returning to England. I usually change things up so we’ll see. Regardless of where I go from here, not bike touring Italy has been a welcome break in my tour.

An odd welcome to Italy.

Fisherman on Lago Maggiore.

The delicious foods of Parma.

Nobody does coffee better than Italy.

The house where my grandfather was born.

A colorful bike that caught my eye.

Pope paraphernalia in Rome.

A tourists view of Trevi Fountain.

The Pantheon.

Napoli nightlife.

Naples is an open air, living museum.

The ruins of Herculaneum. The grass down there used to be the beach before Vesuvius erupted

The almost perfectly preserved murals of Herculaneum.

The culprit, Vesuvius, looms over the archaeological dig and modern city of Ercolano.

Beneath Colosseo Flavio outside of Naples.

Considered by many to be the best pizza in Napoli, and possibly on earth. A pie from Da Michele.